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Mend
Member of the Supermoms. Her mostly defensive/supportive abilities give her a unique and invaluable role on the team. Mend doesn't have a specific inspiration among superhero archetypes, but she shares some similarities with the generic "superpowers and spandex" type of American superheroes, like X-Men or the Fantastic Four. She was created the last, which is reflected in her being the last to join the Teen Queens in canon. Initially she was supposed to only have healing powers, but later her powerset was upgraded with force fields, deemed to be of more use in the heat of a battle – similar to what once happened to Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman (though unlike Susan's, Mend's force fields are defensive only). Biography It's not yet established how exactly Anne-Marie Stephens got her powers. We know that, as a teenage girl, she got in a fight, and some entity with supernatural power in their hands punched her right in the lips (probably a hero or a well-intentioned alien of some sort). After seeing Teen Queens in a TV report, she applied to join them, thus becoming the team's latest member. What followed were the happiest years in the life of the spunky teenager. She had awesome adventures, she kicked ass (even as a mostly defensive member of the group), she made new friends... and soon found love. They were the most unlikely couple: he was one of Teen Queens' major enemies, after all – a young cocky supervillain called Shadow Boy, aka Donald Bernstein. Their relationship was the most well-kept secret of the superhero community, known only to the members of the Teen Queens: after all, Shadow Boy had to fear retribution from the supervillain community, for mingling with a heroine. After the Teen Queens disbanded, Donald abandoned his (mostly nominal by the time) supervillain identity as well, and needed to lay low. He got an unassuming but steady job at a bike repair shop, and the young couple bought their own house and moved in together. Some time later they married, and Anne-Marie gave birth to twins, Harold and Jack. She decided against getting a job herself, instead choosing to spend her time managing the house and raising the kids, which she liked a lot. However, a simple life of a housewife soon proved to not be enough for Anne-Marie. She craved more action in her life, often catching herself reminiscing about her Teen Queen days. She brought this up with Donald, and he encouraged her to try putting her costume on again, and maybe even fighting some small crime solo. She tried, and was surprised at how smoothly it went. However, after Anne-Marie mentioned this to her former teammates, it turned out some of them also weren't too much against revisiting the past! After an old supervillain attacked, they were all fighting together again, now as a new team called Supermoms! ''Appearances: Supermoms ##1-4, Mend ##1-2, Short #4, Holiday Special #1.'' Powers Mend's main superpower is the ability to heal almost every physical ailment or disease by kissing the afflicted person. She can literally "kiss it all better". She usually has to kiss the approximate place where the ailment manifests (e.g., if it's a bruise – the bruise itself, if it's a headache – the forehead, etc.). She's also immune from getting any disease that way. Initially, Mend thought it's her only superpower. However, much later, after returning to superheroics as a Supermoms member, she discovered one more power. It was also a defensive one, but in a different way: she was able to create powerful protective bubble-shaped force fields by sending an air kiss. Those force fields can shield from most physical attacks and some forms of energy. She can also form a bubble of force around herself, which then she can levitate in the air. Costume Mend's costume consists of a white sleeveless top (similar to a sports bra) with a stylized pink "M" on the front, white gloves and white boots with pink stripes, white shorts with pink stripes on the sides, and a white bandana mask (similar to TMNT masks in design). The costume has a sporty feel to it, reflecting her tomboy personality as a teen. Nowadays, her boyish figure has turned into a chubby big-breasted motherly one, filling out the old costume nicely. Personality As a kid, Scottish American Anne-Marie Stephens ("Nan", as she preferred to be called) was a tomboy: short unkempt hair, a passionate love for volleyball, and an athletic body that was always covered in scratches and bruises from the constant fights she got into. This continued into the Teen Queen era, though her new powers and her superhero status made Mend care more about defending the weak and standing up to the bullies of this world. The real turning point in her personality was her long and blissful relationship with Donald Bernstein. She started caring about her appearance more, and found an unexpected interest and fun in cooking (especially baking cookies, which quickly became Donald's kryptonite). After giving birth to her twins, Anne-Marie emerged a different woman. She's still the same energetic and cheerful "Nan", but now she's also a very motherly and nurturing woman, caring about her husband and kids a lot. Note that Anne-Marie actually loves being a housewife. She's not the type to get roped into a lifestyle she dislikes. She enjoys spreading her love and care to her beloved family and their household. Baking cookies became one of her hobbies, and Anne-Maries often participates in the neighborhood's bake sales and contests. She also likes helping other people (e.g. healing them) and defending and protecting the weak and innocent. Family Donald Bernstein Anne-Marie's husband. Age: 31 years old. Supervillainy was pretty much a family business for the Bernsteins, so Donald's parents pushed him down that path. He became quite a popular teenage supervillain under the name of Shadow Boy, wielding a superpower to control shadows. Truth to be told, Donald enjoyed the status, powers and fangirls associated with being a teenage supervillain celeb much more than actually committing villainous crimes. He preferred either doing something not really harmful but flashy, or just pestering various superheroes – out of which, the Teen Queens soon became his major nemeses. He was usually careful not to get defeated or caught, teasing and taunting the exasperated heroes from the shadows. However, during one of his battles against the Teen Queens, he was unexpectedly defeated by their new member, Mend. Not wanting even a villain to suffer, she kissed the bruise she made... and Donald suddenly saw the tomboy superheroine in a different light. After that fight, he started sending her anonymous letters full of dark emo poetry, and bouquets of black roses; he never got a reply. Finally, he got the courage to just approach the Teen Queens' HQ and ask Mend out, disregarding the danger of being defeated and caught. The Teen Queens decided not to fight him, after Mend revealed that Shadow Boy is in love with her, and that she's started to reciprocate his feelings. The two went on a date, and a life-long romance began. After he started dating Mend, Shadow Boy stopped doing any actual villainous activities altogether, though he still appeared to fight and taunt various heroes from time to time. When the Teen Queens disbanded, he also retired from supervillainy, faking his demise so that the supervillain community wouldn't hunt him. He got himself a steady job at a bike repair shop, and after some time became its owner. Now in his thirties, Donald has retained his youthful good looks, with the consensus among most Mend's teammates being that he's one major hunk. Personality-wise, he's a chill guy, his tough and handsome "bad boy" exterior hides his ravenous appetite for Anne-Marie's cookies and nerdy interests (he never misses the weekly Mutants & Masterminds game at Steve Banks' house). ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Mend ##1-2, Short #4, Holiday Special #1.'' Harold and Jacob "Jack" Bernstein Anne-Marie and Donald's twin sons. Age: 9 years old. They both inherited their mother's hair color and freckles. These two rambunctious little scamps are full of energy and are often seen running around the house. They don't know either of their parent's secrets, and Donald and Anne-Marie have vowed not to tell them until they're 18. Harold and Jack don't seem to have inherited anything "special" from their superpowered parents. They're both a bit chubby thanks to Anne-Marie's cooking, but are full of energy and love playing outside. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Mend ##1-2, Short #4, Holiday Special #1 (mentioned).'' Donald Bernstein Sr. and Elda Bernstein Donald's supervillain parents, aka Dr. Despair and Frau Fury. They were the only villains who know that Donald faked his demise. They disapprove of him just settling down, getting a steady job, and marrying an "ordinary" (as they think) girl, but hope it's just part of some nefarious plan of his. They're quite critical of Anne-Marie (especially Elda), mostly because they wanted their only son to marry a supervillain. When they come to visit, Donald and Anne-Marie have to try their best not to let them learn that their "ordinary" daughter-in-law is secretly a – gasp! – superheroine! Not much else is known about them at this point. ''Appearances: Mend #2 (mentioned).'' Gallery mend10zz.jpg mend10.png|''Artist: JMD'' mend06z.png|Queen is Anne-Marie's favorite band. Artist: LiefeldianAbomination mendteen03.jpg|Teenage Mend teenqueens01.png|Teenage Mend and Star-Striker. Artist: LiefeldianAbomination shadowboy02zz.jpg|Teenage and modern day Donald Bernstein drdespair02.png|Mend's villainous in-laws. Artist: LiefeldianAbomination mend04.jpg|Mend (old design) meets Lovely Ladybug Links *Pictures of Mend in her canon costume *Pictures of Anne-Marie Stephens in civilian clothes *Full Mend gallery (with variant costumes, etc.) *Mend's family members gallery Category:Characters Category:Hero Category:Female